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EASTON, Conn. Members of the Easton Fire Department have held two Vital Fire Safety presentations for Easton adults with the hopes of educating them on how they can avoid the devastating outcome of the Christmas Day fire in Stamford. But its focus in the past few months isnt just on adults: Deputy Fire Marshal Lucy Crossman has also been educating Easton children since 1985.
Its always been my theory that you are never too young to think about your own safety. If we start with the 3- and 4-year-olds, they never forget it and they learn long before they form any bad habits, Crossman said.
She met with children earlier this week at the Jesse Lee Preschool Learning Center and quickly got the little ones engaged with all things fire safety. The 3-year-olds were introduced to smoke detectors and learned how they work, or as Crossman said, How its great big nose sniffs out smoke. She also had the children practice dialing 911 on a toy phone.
Crossman will go back Wednesday to go over the information with the kids one more time to ensure that the message has stuck. She also met with the 4- and 5-year-old kids at Jesse Lee, a group she introduced fire safety to last year. Crossmans message seemed old hat to these children, many of whom knew exactly what number to call in case of an emergency and that smoke detector batteries needed to be changed frequently.
The biggest thrill for the children was when Crossman took out her fire gear and explained each piece. She then put on each article of clothing, from boots to helmet, until her body was covered and safe.
Next week, the children will head to the firehouse to meet with Crossman and other Easton firefighters.
Crossman said she works with children in preschool and elementary school all year and breaks down each fire lesson depending on the grade. We want to make sure that the by the time we are finished that they are not afraid of a firefighter and that they know everything they are going to need to know. Once they are out of the fifth grade, these kids will be able to understand everything we taught them, and it will stick with them as they move on, she said.
As Crossman was leaving Jesse Lee, many of the children screamed goodbye to Firefighter Lucy and thanked her for coming. When we go into the schools, were rock stars, she said. Its pretty cool, and it makes you feel pretty good.
If anyone is interested in having their children learn about fire safety or if adults want to learn, call Lucy Crossman at the Easton Fire Department at 203-268-2833.
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